Container and closure therefor



Oct. 12, 1965 R. D. COLLONS 3,211,322

CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed March 18, 1965 I. Y! yak! i il)li i RodgerD. Col/00$ IN V EN TOR.

BY ATTorney United States Patent 3,211,322 CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Rodger D. Collons, 106 Dodge St., Smyrna, Ga. Filed Mar. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 265,662 2 Claims. (Cl. 220-46) This invention relates to a closure and more particularly to a container and a self sealing self locking closure therefor.

For the economical transportation of goods in containers the container should be made of inexpensive materials and be economical of manufacture to cut down its initial cost. It should also be tough to withstand rough handling, water tight to prevent spoilage in transit or in dockage and light weight to minimize the shipment of dead Weight. Additionally, and possibly most importantly, the container should be capable of being reused and/ or knocked down to a configuration making it possible to reship the container to a point of use where it can be easily reconstructed and used again with little or no wastage. The container closure should also be simple, of light weight, easily installed, easily removable without injury to the container, self locking and self sealing. This invention provides a tough, impervious, water tight, knockdown, reshippable container having a self sealing self locking closure meeting the above requirements.

It will be seen, therefore, that it is an object of this invention to provide a tough, impervious, reusable container which is economical of manufacture.

Another object of this invention is to provide a container capable of being knocked down to a minimum size for reshipment.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a light weight self sealing closure.

A further object of this invention is to provide a slideon self locking closure.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a slide-on removable self sealing and self locking closure.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a container having a slide-on self sealing closure the self sealing effect of which is enhanced by pressurization or partial evacuation of the container.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following description and drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a container constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view taken substantially along line 22 of FIGURE 1 showing a preferred closure seal;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view of an alternate form of the closure seal of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view of another alternate form of the closure seal of FIGURE 3.

Generally stated, this invention relates to a tough impervious plastic container capable of reuse or re-shipment in a minimum of space, having a slidably engaged and disengaged self sealing and self locking closure.

More specifically, there is shown in FIGURE 1 the container 6 having a preferably hollow cylindrical side wall or body portion 7, although it could be rectangular. Body 7 is preferably formed by roll or bend forming a single piece of tough, pliable, impervious, sheet plastic approximately one-eighth inch thick such as polyethylene and welding the end edges together along the weld line or bead 8. For closing the top and bottom of the container body 7 there are provided the slidably engaged, self sealing, self locking, or self gripping preferably plastic closures 20 each provided with a valve 21 whereby the container may be connected to atmosphere, pres- 3,211,322 Patented Oct. 12, 1965 surized, or partially evacuated. The container 6 thus formed may be unpacked upon reaching its destination simply by removing at least one of the closures and repacked for re-shipment. Alternately, if it is necessary to reship the container empty to a point for re-use, the closures 20 may be slidably removed from the container bodies 7, the container body 7 cut as along the weld line 8, the container body straightened by the application of light pressure to the ends thus disconnected, and lastly the relatively fiat closures 20 and container bodies 7 stacked for re-shipment. The containers 6 are readily reassembled for re-use by a reverse process. It will be appreciated from the above that the container 6, by reason of its unique construction, is adapted with equal facility for the re-shipment of goods or for re-shipment empty in a minimum of space.

Closures 20, best seen in FIGURE 2, each comprise a circular main body portion 22 connected at 23 to the seal structure 25. Forming of the seal structure 25 is accomplished by extruding or die casting a strip of plastic and cementing or welding the ends thereof together to form a circle. Although seal structure 25 and main closure portion 22 are disclosed as being separately formed, it is to be understood that they could as readily be formed structurally integrally as by die casting. Seal structure 25 comprises a top wall 26 and spaced apart side walls or flanges 27 and 28 protruding from one side thereof. Flange 27 includes preferably three seals 29 which are wide at their bases 29a and narrow to points at their terminal ends 29b. The seals 29 are formed to be curved such that their leading edges 29c facing the open terminal end of flange 27 are convex, their trailing edges 29d facing the top wall 26 are concave, and their terminal ends 2% are disposed rearwardly with respect to the main body portion thereof. Flange 28 is provided with seals 34 identical in configuration to the seals 29 in opposed relation thereto and accordingly the major features of seals 34 have been given reference numerical suffixes corresponding to the identical major feature of the seals 29. Although it is preferred that the terminal ends 29b and 34b of seals 29 and 34, respectively, are not touching, these terminal ends could be touching if desired.

For. closing the container 6, a closure 20 is mounted on each end of the container such that the side wall 7 slides into the seal structure 25 and in so doing depresses the seals 29 and 34 causing them to bend toward the top wall 26 such that a portion of their leading edges 29c and 340 adjacent their terminal ends 2% and 34b are in intimate sealing contact with the side wall 7. The side wall 7 upon insertion into the closure seal 25 flexurally bends the seals 29 and 34 along their lengths causing them to be resiliently, grippingly, and sealingly biased into engagement with the side wall 7. Although the biasing force of the seals 29 and 34 provides suflicient resistance to removal of the closure 20 under most conditions,

- the terminal end of side wall 7 may be provided with the bead 7a for reaction with the seals 29 and 34 to increase the resistance to removal of the closure 20. One important attribute inherent in the seal structure 25 is that it provides excellent protection against leakage, regardless of the relationship of the pressure inside and outside the container 7. For example, if pressure P inside the container 7 is greater than pressure P outside the box, then for leakage from the box to occur, pressure P would have to depress seals 29 by forward bending and then depress seals 34 by reverse bending which requires a substantially greater pressure than is required for forward bending because the seals must flip back on themselves in their thick middle and lower regions. Conversely, if pressure P is greater than pressure P for leakage into the container 9 to occur, pressure P would have to depress seals 34 by forward bending and seals 29 by reverse bending. In fact, during reverse bending of seals 29 and 34, they are actually biased into firmer gripping and sealing engagement with the container 7, thereby increasing the efficiency of the seal 25 under such conditions. Accordingly, the interior of container 7 may be partially evacuated by connection of the interior of container 6 through valve 21 to a vacuum pump, not shown, to draw the seals 29 into tight sealing engagement with the container side wall 7. The effectiveness of seals 34, of course, is not affected by such partial evacuation. Another advantage obtained by partial evacuation of the interior of container 6 is that it draws the flexible side wall 7 and closures in tightly against loose bulk articles contained therein, for example, reduces its volume, and thus makes rigid the cargo. This ability to rigidize cargo is a quite valuable characteristic of the container 6 in that it eliminates shifting weight problems and cargo damage caused by relative movement between cargo units contained therein. Also, the creation of a partial vacuum in container 7 increases the resistance to removal of the closure 20; therefore, when it is desired to remove the closure, the interior of the container is first connected to atmosphere by operation of the valve 21.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, therein shown is a fragmentary view, identical in character to FIGURE 2, of an alternate form of the container closure shown in FIG- URES 1 and 2 for closing the ends of container body 7. Closure 40 therein shown comprises the main body portion 41 secured at 42 to the seal structure 43. Seal structure 43 comprises a U-shaped mounting portion 44 which may be made of any suitable flexible or resilient metal or plastic material, having a top wall 45 and spaced apart flanges 46 and 47 which depend therefrom. For sealingly and grippingly engaging the closure 40 with the container side wall 7, the plastic seal portions 51 and 52- are secured as by cementing to the interior side walls of flanges 46 and 47, respectively. It will be appreciated, of course, that the mounting portion 44 and seal portions 51, 52 could be made structurally integrally if constructed of the same material.

Seal portion 51 comprises a base 51a from which preferably three seals 51b are angularly inclined toward the top wall 45 in their installed position such that their terminal ends 510 are disposed rearwardly of the leading edge 51d thereof. The seal position 52 is identical to the seal portion 51, and the major features thereof will be given reference numeral suffixes corresponding to the identical major features of the seal portion 51.

For closing the container 6, a closure 40 is mounted on each open end of container body side wall 7 such that the side wall 7 slides into the seal structure 43 and in so doing depresses the seals 51b and 52b causing them to bend toward the top wall 45 such that a portion of their leading edges 51d and 52d adjacent their terminal ends 510 and 52c firmly engage the side wall 7 so as to be in intimate sealing contact therewith. It will be appreciated that the seals 51b and 51c perform the same sealing and gripping function as the seals 29 and 34, but that the seals 51b and 52b will permit fluid leakage through them at a lower pressure differential across them because their bases are not built up. The seals 51b and 52b, however, are quite suitable for most applications where exposure to high differential pressures is not contemplated.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, therein shown is a fragmentary view, identical in character to FIGURE 2, of an alternate form of the container closure shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 for closing the ends of the container body 7. Closure 60 therein shown comprises the main body portion 61 secured at 62 to the U-shaped mounting portion 64 of seal structure 63. Mounting portion 64 may be made of any suitable flexible or resilient metal or plastic material and includes the top wall 65 and spaced apart flanges 66 and 67 which depend therefrom. For sealingly and grippingly engaging the closure 60 with the container side wall 7, the U-shaped seal portion 69 having a top wall 7 and spaced apart flanges 71 and 72 depending therefrom is slidably mounted on the side wall 7. Flange 71 includes preferably three seals 73 which are wide at their bases and narrow to points at their terminal ends. The seals 73 are formed to be curved such that their leading edges facing the top Wall 70 are convex, their trailing edges facing the open terminal end of flange 71 are concave and their terminal ends are disposed rearwardly with respect to the main body portion thereof. Flange 72 is provided with seals 74 identical in configuration to the seals 73, and accordingly the major features of seals 74 will be given reference numeral suffixes corresponding to the identical major features of the seals 73.

For closing the container 6, a closure 60 is mounted on each open end of the container body side wall 7 such that the seal portion 69 slides into the mounting portion 64 whereby the seals 73 and 74 are depressed such that a portion of their leading edges adjacent their terminal ends firmly engage the mounting portion flanges 66 and 67 so as to be in intimate sealing contact therewith. It will be seen that the seals 73 and 74 are operated in the same manner as the seals 29 and 34 of FIGURE 2; however, the efficiency of seals 73, in communication with the interior of container 6, is increased by slight pressurization of container 6 by connection of valve 21 to a source of pressure fluid supply, not shown, or by filling the container with a fluid to be shipped such that a slight pressure exists in the container. Under such conditions, it will be appreciated, the container 6 could be provided with cargo strapping to prevent possible bulging of the container and to prevent the closures 60 from sliding off after the passage of time.

It will be seen from the above that this invention provides a re-usable and/or knockdown container for the protected, economical shipment of goods having slidably installed and removed closures which are self-locking and self-sealing. Moreover, the container is constructed such that it may be partially evacuated for preventing relative movement between bulk articles contained therein without detriment to the sealing effect of the closure seals.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A container comprising in combination: a continuous container body side wall having at least one free terminal end, said container body side wall having an interior and an exterior surface; a closure for each end of said container body, at least one of said closures being slidably engageable with said free terminal end of said container body side wall and including an end wall and at least one continuous flange dependingly mounted from said end wall, at least one continuous fiexurally resilient seal cantilever mounted from said flange, said seal being inclined in a direction toward said end wall and being in resilient sealing engagement with said interior surface of said terminal end portion of said container body side wall upon engagement of said closure with said container body terminal end portion; valve means for connecting the interior of said container to a source of negative pressure; and fluid under a negative pressure in said container, said fluid under a negative pressure drawing said resilient seal into firm sealing engagement with said interior surface of said container body free terminal end portion.

2. A container comprising in combination: a continuous container body side wall having at least one free terminal end, said container body side Wall having an interior and an exterior surface; a closure for each end of said container body, at least one of said closures including an end wall, a pair of concentrically related spaced apart interior and exterior continuous flanges dependingly mounted from one side of said end wall, said flanges having facing side walls, a first plurality of flexurally resilient continuous seals cantilever mounted by their butt ends from a facing flange side Wall of said interior flange, said first plurality of flexurally resilient continuous seals inclined such that their free ends are closer to said end wall than their butt ends, and a second plurality of flexurally resilient continuous seals cantilever mounted by their butt ends from a facing flange side wall of said exterior flange, said second plurality of flexurally resilient continuous seals inclined such that their free ends are closer to said end wall than their butt ends, said free terminal end of said container body side wall slidably fitting between said interior and exterior flanges with said facing flange side walls .in confronting relation with respect to said interior and exterior surfaces of said container body side wall and with said first and second plurality of flexurally resilient seals biased into resilient, sealing engagement with the opposite sides of said container body side 2 wall; valve means for connecting the interior of said container to a source of negative pressure; and fluid under a negative pressure in said container, said fluid under a negative pressure drawing said first plurality of resilient seals into firm sealing engagement with said interior surface of said container body side wall free terminal end portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,911,125 5/33 Miller 20646 2,267,320 12/41 Berch 5322 2,451,070 10/48 Chamberlain 277208 2,676,078 4/54 Young 22046 2,709,519 5/55 Cushman. 2,764,859 10/56 Hanselmann 5322 2,793,406 5/57 Focht -69 2,924,472 2/60 Bush 277209 2,953,824 9/60 Minick 2069 2,954,896 10/ 60 Russell et a1 22046 2,977,993 4/ 61 Scherer 22042 3,042,248 7/62 Krueger 22046 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,175,373 11/58 France.

499,762 11/54 Italy.

174,552 3/61 Sweden.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, Examiner. 

2. A CONTAINER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A CONTINUOUS CONTAINER BODY SIDE WALL HAVING AT LEAST ONE FREE TERMINAL END, SAID CONTAINER BODY SIDE WALL HAVING AN INTERIOR AND AN EXTERIOR SURFACE; A CLOSURE FOR EACH END OF SAID CONTAINER BODY, AT LEAST ONE OF SID CLOSURES INCLUDING AN END WALL, A PAIR OF CONCENTRICALLY RELATED SPACED APART INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR CONTINUOUS FLANGES DEPENDINGLY MOUNTED FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID END WALL, SAID FLANGES HAVING FACING SIDE WALLS, A FIRST PLURALITY OF FLEXURALLY RESILIENT CONTINUOUS SEALS CANTILEVER MOUNTED BY THEIR BUTT ENDS FROM A FACING FLANGE SIDE WALL OF SAID INTERIOR FLANGE, SAID FIRST PLURALITY OF FLEXURALLY RESILIENT CONTINUOUS SEALD INCLINED SUCH THAT THEIR FREE ENDS ARE CLOSER TO SAID END WALL THAN THEIR BUTT ENDS, AND A SECOND PLURALITY OF FLEXURALLY RESILIENT CONTINUOUS SEALS CANTILEVER MOUNTED BY THEIR BUTT ENDS FROM A FACING FLANGE SIDE WALL OF SAID EXTERIOR FLANGE, SAID SECOND PLURALITY FO FLEXURALLY RESILIENT CONTINUOUS SEALS INCLINED SUCH THAT THEIR FREE ENDS ARE 